Been to this same group, and won this tournament shortly after Kanei died in the mid 90's.

Went to the Tokyo with the then "Soke" group, which was then Master's Shirado, Toyama, Nakama, and Kanmei. Soke was then just starting to stand on its own after Kanei died. It was a decent group until Kanmei felt threatened by them all and threw them all out of “Soke”!

Interesting group, though, little different emphasis on sanchin, and kata. Kind of a strong group, back then, overall.

Not too friendly to gaijin though…. Sad…

Mark

"Language was invented to ask questions. Answers may be given by grunts and gestures, but questions must be spoken. People came of age when man asked the first question. Learning stagnation results not from a lack of answers but from the absence of questions."

Good seeing you also, and yes, I am still practicing Japanese Jujutsu, BJJ and Judo. I plan on traveling next year to Hong Kong, Tokyo and Okinawa. I hope to visit as many Uechi dojos as possible. I like seeing and feeling different interpretations of Uechi Ryu. Our style has so much more to offer besides whats being shown and practiced in "typical" Uechi dojos. I've barely scratched the surface when it comes to Uechi, and discover new things daily in our kata, kumite and kihon. Things that both validate and question some of my previous assessments of our beloved Uechi Ryu. I'll keep you posted Van, and I hope to see you at next year's event.